Nutcracker treat: Ballet gains a dozen young fans

Tiffany Persaud, 10, told herself she was not going to enjoy the Nutcracker at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday.

She was not a fan of classical music. She did not even like going to the movies. She is legally blind.

Persaud's buddies at the Broward Lighthouse for the Blind, an agency that provides counseling and educational services for the visually impaired, tried to persuade her to go with them. She could leave at the halfway point during intermission if she didn't enjoy the show, they said.

"Fine," said Persaud, but only if her mom could go, too.

She sat in the back of the room during a pre-performance introduction from the founding artistic director of the Miami City Ballet, legendary dancer Edward Villella.

He then described the plot line for the holiday classic. It's like any other girl-meets-guy story, he said, except the girl gets a toy nutcracker, falls asleep and wakes up in a land of dancing sugar plums.Villella passed out props from the show for the group to feel, including the Nutcracker mask and pink ballet shoes. "Our ladies wear these special shoes to balance on their toes," he explained. "Sometimes it is so delicate they have to have help from a gentleman."

Persaud smiled and her eyes grew wide as she felt the Sugar Plum's tiara. "The crown was the coolest because I'll be a queen one day, according to my dad," she said.

This was the first time the group of 12 had been to the ballet, said Elly du PrM-i, the executive director of the Lighthouse of Broward.

The group, with sight that ranges from total blindness to impaired vision, usually goes on outings that encourage members to use the mobility skills they have learned. Last month, they organized a trip to the grocery store and made dinner together.

For the Nutcracker, they brought custom-made programs written in large type or Braille. Those with better eyesight sat next to those who could not see anything to describe the action on stage.

"It's kind of like the blind leading the blind," said Andrew Diaz, 19, who has been blind since birth. "It's kind of funny."

"A lot of these kids are in transition to adulthood and going to the theater is an adult thing to do," du PrM-i said. "And they can make up their minds if they like it or not, just like an adult."

At intermission, Israel Bolivar, 19, chuckled when asked what he enjoyed about the show. "The music. But to be honest, I kind of fell asleep."

A few chairs over, Persaud was wide awake. Though she could see only a blue blob in front of her, the teal seats around her and the bright lights above, her mother whispered the unfolding scene to her.